Floor connection.



JLJ. DONOVAN.

FLOOR CONNECTION.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 25. 1910.

Patented Apr. 4, 1911.

UNIT D STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Joan .1. Donovan, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLOOR CONNECTION.

' To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that 1, JOHN J. Doxovax, of Boston, in the county of Sufiolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Floor Connections, of which the following is a specification- The present invention relates to a means or mode of making an air tight connection between a drain pipe or S011 pipe and a plumbingfixture which is .arranged to discharge directly into the drain pipe. Many ava fixtures used in plumbin such as tories, tubs and sinks, empty directly into traps tn which a water seal is maintained to prevent backing up of sewer air. There are other fixtures however including mainly water closets and slop sinks which are so constructed as .to contain in themselves a water seal and discharge directly into the drain ipe, and it is to this last named class of xtures that the present invention relates.

Such fixturesordinarily rest upon the floor and the connection with the drain pipe is at or through the floor, and for this reason I have termed the connection which forms the subject of the present invention .a floor connection and shall' -refer to it from time to time in the following specification by this term. I desire it to be understood however that the term is one of convenience mainly and'that I define it as meaning the connec .tion' which is made between the water closet or analogous fixture and the pipe, whether suchconnectionis actually in the floor or 'not'and regardless also of whether the fixture actually rests upon the floor 01; upon a support other than the floor.

detail. In order to explain these objects use.

Having thus defined the general nature of the invention'I will now state the'objects for which I have devised the improvements which constitute the subject matter of this application and are hereinafter described necessary first to indicate briefly the character of the floor connection which is at the presenttime in most general use. The'most common type of such connection includes between the iron soil pipe and the fixture a brass calking nipple, a lead pipe which is soldered to this" nipple and a flange soldered to the lead pipe and fastened to the fixture. The fixture rests on the floor and has its outlet in the form of a spigot or nipple extending below its base and entering. the upper Specification of Letters Patent. application filed August 25, 1910. Serial No. 578,948.

Patented Apr. 4, 1911.

end of the lead pipe section to some extent.

The latter projects through the floor on V which the fixturerests and is surrounded at 1ts upp cr end by a flange usually of brass, which Is soldered to it and rests upon the- The lower end of the lead pipe section is soldered to the brass nipple which in turn pro ects into the hub of the cast iron soil pipe and is made ti ht therewith by a. calked lead joint. The j oint between the lead pipe and the spigot or nipple is packed with soft material such as a rubber gasket, putty, gum, wax, graphite, etc., on account of the fact that the fixture, particularly when the same is a water closet, is ordinarilyma de of earthenware and is brittle. NVhen'the fixture is placed upon the floor as" described it is secured by bolts held in the flange above mentioned and passing through the base of the fixture, on the protruding ends of which, bolts are screwed nuts. \Vhen the nuts are tightened up the base of the fixture is pressed against the floor and the fixture is thus secured against displacement. The etticacy of the joint between the nipple of the fixture and the soil pipe however depends altogether upon the care with'which the putty or other packin is packed about the joint. and if the packing should shrink or should be so carelessly applied as toleave openings and not be perfectly air tight there is no way of compressing it so as to close way on account of the resistance of the floor and of the fact that the pipe is inextensible.

: Hence 'it'is possible for the joint to be so loose and so inefiiciently packed as to permit escape of sewer air. No ready means exists for detecting such a leak because the pro ectihg nipple extending into the pipe prevents the water from leaking without preventing outflow of rising air.

My invention is designed to do away w th the ,expensive fittings between the S011 plpe and fixture and with the expensive. labor necessary to install such fittings, thereby making the connection less expensive, an

also to enable a perfect joint between the pipe and fixture to be maintained so that escape of sewer air may be prevented.

A further object is to make the joint of such a character and arranged at such a pomt that an annular space containing water for a water seal is provided, and if the joint is not perfectly tight the water may escape and so give warning of leakage by appearing on the floor or the ceiling below, and also to provide means bywhich any leakage which may occur may be immediately and easily stopped and the jointmade perfectly tightwithout the necessity of removing the fixture or disturbing any connections. i

the following specification and illustrated .in the accompanying drawings, which latter The manner in which I put-my invention into practicalform is described in: detail in show the preferred embodiment ofmy invention and 'also'one of many modified constructions in which the essential principles of the invention may be embodied.

- In the-" drawings-Figure 1 is a vertical central sectional view of the complete device. Fig; 2 is a perspective view of one of the main holding bolts. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevation of one side of-the holding ring showing the means for engaging the lower endofthe bolt. Figr is a per- 'spective view of the-ring} Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the packing member or "gland. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional- 'view illustrating one modified embodiment of the invention.

Referring to'the drawings, the fixture'for which my improved connection is designed is represented by the character 1, and the soil or drain pipe by 2. The fixture rests .upOn a floor or other support 3 and the soil pipe is below "the floor. A section of pipe 4:, which may be any ordinary cast iron.

base being enough greater than the diamseter .ur-

of the pipe to receive these parts. rounding the pipe 4 and resting on the floor is a ring 7 of any suitable material such as cast iron, which is secured either to the floor or to the pipe. \Vhere the floor is of wood the ring 7 may be secured by screws passing through it embedded in the wood and where the floor is of concrete, stone or other material unfit to receive screws or nails it may be secured to the pipe by such means as a lead gasket flowed into the space between the ring and pipe and calked. The ring is provided with pockets which receive the of the bolts.

lead forming the gasket. On the outside of the ring 7 and preferably at diametrically opposite points thereon, are pairs of lugs 9 between the members of each pair of which is left a space 10. .In each of such spaces is set the base of'a bolt 11 which rises'through an aperture12 in the base of the fixture and protrudes from the upper side of such base. The inner, sides of the lugs 9 ;are made sloping and the bolt'is enlarged at its lower end andmade of non-circular outline so that it fits between the lugs and is held thereby both against rotation and against being withdrawn endwise. Nuts 13 are screwed upon the bolts and serve to fasten the fixture in place with sufficient firmness to prevent accidental dislodgmentu; r

- Above the ring 7 is a second ring 14 which I term a packing ring or gland, and between the latter and the underside of the base iscontained a mass of packing 16. Such packing may be a rubber gasket, a mass of putty or any other elastic or plastic substance which answers the requirements of plumb-' ing and building regulations for making a joint air-tight. The surface-.17 of the gland against which the packing rests is beveled inwardly and downwardly so that when the gland is drawn "toward the base of the fixture the packing is forced inward against the.

pipe. Means for thus moving the gland and compressing the packing is provided in the form'of studs 18 which are formed inte-- grally with or secured to the ring 14; and pro ect upwardly through apertures in the baseof'the fixture. Nuts 19 are thr'eaded on the ends of these studs and serve to ac complish this purpose,

Preferably the stud lSpassthrough the same apertures in the base which contain thebolts 11 and preferably also they are so arranged that the'nuts 19 which take up the I gland and compress the packing abut on the ends of the bolts and transmit their pressure directly to the floor rather than against the base of the fixture, For this purpose the.

studs are offset somewhat from the outer circumference of the gland," being formed upon radial lugs QOthereof; and are "contained with these lugs inside of the bolts 11. The latter are made'hollowin their upper parts and have in one side a slot 21 through which the lugs 20 pass.

In assembling the bolts andggland the former are first set into thefnotches" 10 between the lugs 9 'with'theirslotted sides inward, and thegland is then placed'f'with its studs and lugs directly abovethe' bolts and the slots 21 therein respectively," Thegland is then lowered until it restson 'thiing. 7,

its lugs 20 passing downward into the slots v m'ost important features of the invention,

: namely, that the packing can be compressed independently of the means which clamp the lq fixture upon the floor, and thus without re- I qu'irin the fixture to be removed or disar- "rang in the least in case it should be necessary' tostop a leak. Another important advantage is that the construction described enables thei'recess in the base ofthc fixture I to be enough larger than the pipe end and associated, parts,to enable the fixture to be setup slightly out of line with the pipe, as '1 I in ease the" pipe end should not be perfectly -20.-' vertical or the floor should not be level or it should be desirable for any purpose to slant the fixture one wa or the other. As is .shown in the drawing there is some space between. the inner circulnference of the gland 2 5 and the-piping, and also between the outer partsof the gland and pipe and the inner surfaces of the fixture, thereby even though the fixture is not in proper alinement with the pipe yet it is possible to take up the gland in such a way as to compress the packing all around thejoint between the fixture and pipe. Still another advantage arising from my improvement is that the pipe 4 need not be accurately cut or finished on its up er end; Some fixtures require that the end of the corresponding pipe make contact-with the fixture and therefore that it be finished accurately and smoothly. In my invention as the joint is outside of the pipe end such end need not make contact at any point with the-fixture and so may be cut roughly and without any high degree of accuracy. The pipe 4 may be an end of any sort of ipe cut off in the ordinary manner and wit in a quarter or half inch of the required length.

"The location of the packing for the joint is slightly below the end of the pipe, and between the latter and the inside of the fixture base is left an annular space into which water may flow. .lVhen the packing is sufficiently tight the water lies in this annular space and provides a liquid seal against the escape of the sewer air. In case, however,

- the packing should be insutliciently tight,

the-water will leak through, and by -appearing on the floor. or on the ceiling below, will show that the joint is not sufiiciently tlght and therefore that leakage of sewer air is occurring. This particular joint therefore serves both to provide a liquid seal andas a leak detector. InaFig. 6 I have shown one of several d ther forms in which the essential principles-of my invention may be embodied. In

' this drawing there is shown one ofthe most common water closet fixtures having the spigot or nipple 22, hereinbefore reIerred to. The drain pipe 4, ring 7, bolts 11 and nut 13 are the same as previously described with the exception that the bolts are internally threaded. The gland -14 difl ers from the gland 14; in that the beveled surface is on its underside and the packing 16 is contained between this beveled surface, the nipple 22, the ring 7 and the pipe 4. Furthermore the gland 14 is without the studs 18 and in place of the latter there are provided set-- screws 23 independent of the land which are 'engagedwith the internal tiread of the bolts 11 and bear on the upper side of the gland. When these set-screws are 'screwed down they compress the packing against the end of the pipe and the outer side of the nipple thereby making an air-tight joint.

Essentially however the invention is the same in that the means for compressing the packing passes'through the same apertures in the base of the fixture as do the bolts 11 and are operable independently of the nuts coacting with these bolts to secure the fixture to the floor.

I claim 1. The combination with a drain pipe of a fixture resting on the floor and having a.

recessed base into which the pi e extends, a ring surrounding the pipe ant rigidly fastened relatively to the fixture, bolts fastened at their lower ends to said ring and passing upward through the fixture base, nuts threaded on said bolts securing the fixture in place, a gland surrounding the pipe above the first-named ring, packing surrounding 'the pipe between said gland and the base,

and means passin through the base for drawing the glan toward the i base and thereby compressing the packing to make an air-tight joint between the pipe and fixture.

2. The combination with a drain pipe of a fixture resting on the fioor and having a recessed base into which the pipe extends, a ring surrounding the pipe and secured with respect thereto, bolts fastened at their lower ends to said ring and passing upward through the fixture base, nuts threaded, on said bolts securing the fixture in place, a gland surrounding the pipe above the firstnamed ring, packing surrounding the'pipe and engaging a beveled face of the gland, and means for actuating the gland to compress the packing into the joint between the pipe and fixture, thereby making such joint air-tight.

3. A floor connection for fixtures of the character described comprising the combination of a fixture having a base, a drain pipe extending from the base, packing between the pipe and base, means for securing the against the pipe and base to make the joint between the two air-tight.

t. In combination with a fixture of the character described and a drain pipe, a base on the fixture having a recess to receive the end of the drain pipe, bolts secured at their lower ends to the support for the fixture and passing upward through the base, nuts on such'bolts bearing against the base to secure the fixture upon the support, packing between the pipe and fixture, a gland operable to compress the packing lnto the joint between the pipe and fixture to make such joint air-tight and means passing through the bolts for actuating said gland so as to compress the packing, said means and bolts being so arranged that the thrust of the means is taken by the-bolts.

' Thecombination of a plumbing fixture, a support on, which the latter rests, a drain -pipe extending through the support in line.

With the outlet of the fixture, packing ar ranged to close the 3o1nt between the pipe and fixture, means for clainping'the fixture for taking up the packin 6. The (-OlllblllfitlOliOf a plumbing fixture,

upon the support, and independent means a support, a drain pipe in line with the-out.

let of the fixture, a gland arranged between the base of the fixture and the support and surrounding the pipe a packing contained between the pipe, the ase'ot the fixture and the gland, and means for drawing said gland toward the base to compress the packing again st the sanieand against the pipe.-

7. The combination of a plumbing fixture having a base, a drain pipe in line with the outlet of said fixture, packing surrounding the pipe and underlying the base of the fiX- ture, means for compressing said packing against the pipe and the fixture base, and. means independent thereof for securing the fixture in place, the fixture being formed With an annular space surrounding the end of the pipe to provide a liquid seal in connection with the packing to prevent escape of sewer air. I

The combination of a plumbing fixture adapted to rest upon a floor or other suport. a drain ioe Jro'ecting throu 'h the l a ti 

